Obama needs to get more specific on climate change, Brown says

Tuesday

Jun 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMJun 29, 2010 at 4:08 PM

President Barack Obama needs to weigh into the climate change debate with more specifics if legislation that puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions is to have a chance of passing Congress this year, Sen. Sherrod Brown said this afternoon.

President Barack Obama needs to weigh into the climate change debate with more specifics if legislation that puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions is to have a chance of passing Congress this year, Sen. Sherrod Brown said this afternoon.

Brown, D-Ohio, was among nearly two dozen senators of both parties who met with Obama at the White House to talk – yet again – about how to carve out a deal on a bill that both pumps money and resources into so-called clean energy investments and limits carbon emissions by power plants and manufacturers.

Also at the meeting was GOP Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio, who emphasized this afternoon his desire for an “energy bill” that includes expanded nuclear power and more money for clean coal technology.

While many people of both parties want a final climate change measure this year, there also are many ideas on what should be in that piece of legislation, said Brown.

The House last year passed a climate change bill that penalizes carbon emissions, but Brown and GOP Sen. Voinovich are not yet supporting a similar Senate measure introduced this year by Democrat John Kerry of Massachusetts and Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut.

“The president is going to need to be more specific at some point…on what he wants and what he thinks this institution can deliver,” Brown said during a conference call with reporters following the White House meeting.

Brown is part of a key group of coal-state Democrats who are so far withholding support from a climate change bill, though he insisted today that he agrees with Obama’s contention that “polluters” must pay for excessive carbon emissions.

The Ohio Democrat is pushing for a $30 billion federal revolving loan fund to help manufacturers retool existing factories to produce such clean energy products as solar panels and wind turbines.

And while he says he supports Obama’s call for a tax on carbon emissions that exceed certain levels as a “price on carbon,” Brown adds that it must be done in a way that doesn’t lead to manufacturers moving jobs out of state like Ohio that derive most of its electricity from coal-fired power plants.

Both Brown and Voinovich say they want to make sure that any carbon emissions taxes imposed by a domestic climate change bill be matched with provisions require other countries to have the same emissions limits or face an import fee for products made with the help of cheaper, dirtier power. Brown says he wants to make sure there is no “carbon leakage” of jobs.

Brown maintains last year’s $787 billion stimulus package has helped Ohio make inroads in developing clean energy jobs. He released a report showing that the state has received more than $889 million in stimulus dollars for various projects – including nearly $125 million worth of tax credits aimed at encouraging investments by companies such as the Xunlight Corp. in Toledo.

The White House put out its own account of the meeting, one that lacked the specifics Brown says will be needed if legislation is to have a chance of passing this year.

“The President told the Senators that he still believes the best way for us to transition to a clean energy economy is with a bill that makes clean energy the profitable kind of energy for America's businesses by putting a price on pollution -- because when companies pollute, they should be responsible for the costs to the environment and their contribution to climate change,” the White House said. But, “Not all of the Senators agreed with this approach, and the president welcomed other approaches and ideas that would take real steps to reduce our dependence on oil, create jobs, strengthen our national security and reduce the pollution in our atmosphere.”

And while the White House meeting was bipartisan, Republicans blasted Brown for using the occasion to tout clean energy stimulus spending.

"Sherrod Brown’s latest lame attempt to re-sell the ‘Recovery Act’ as a success won’t sit well with the almost 128,000 Ohioans who are still out of work," said Ryan Tronovitch, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.

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